Leo Compels Reluctant Nancy to Brief Press, Sidelining CJ
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Leo corners Nancy post-meeting, forcing her to brief the press, revealing tensions over CJ's role and administration optics.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
decisive and wry
Enters Situation Room, questions Bazan's demands, jokes about asylum, directs specific negotiation terms including Venezuela exile and unfreezing accounts.
- • Achieve peaceful and immediate resolution to Bazan crisis
Unyielding resolve masking impatience with dissent
Leo pulls Nancy out of the Situation Room into the hallway, issues a direct order for her to brief the press after the deal, repeatedly denies punitive intent toward C.J., explains strategic rationale tied to MS avoidance, and abruptly dismisses her reluctance before striding away.
- • Protect administration from MS scrutiny by deploying neutral briefer
- • Assert unchallenged authority over staff roles amid crisis
- • Strategic necessity trumps personal discomfort or loyalty pleas
- • C.J.'s vulnerability endangers the team's political firewall
Conflicted reluctance blending loyalty to C.J. with deference to hierarchy
Nancy follows Leo out of the Situation Room into the hallway, acknowledges his call, protests the press assignment by defending C.J.'s mistake twice, expresses personal discomfort, but yields silently as he overrides her.
- • Shield C.J. from further marginalization after her error
- • Avoid overstepping her non-political role
- • C.J.'s mistake warrants defense, not sidelining
- • Usurping press duties undermines team solidarity
concerned
Raises legal concerns about Haiti treaties violation from amnesty and Bazan's money/plane demands.
- • Alert team to legal and moral risks of concessions
concerned
Warns against setting precedent for failed coups with amnesty.
- • Prevent establishment of dangerous diplomatic precedent
Subject of negotiations; demands ten million dollars, private plane, war crimes immunity, and asylum for self and 60 family members.
- • Negotiate favorable surrender terms including money, transport, and asylum
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The West Wing hallway becomes the stark, liminal arena for Leo's terse ambush of Nancy post-meeting, where unbuffered authority clashes with loyalty in hurried whispers, amplifying isolation and raw hierarchy away from the group's eyes.
The Situation Room serves as the immediate prelude site from which Leo and Nancy exit together, its crisis residue—Haiti negotiations—fueling the hallway pivot to press strategy, underscoring seamless transition from geopolitics to internal power maneuvers.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The White House Press Corps looms as the targeted audience for Nancy's impending briefing on the Haiti deal, invoked by Leo to justify benching C.J. amid MS vulnerabilities, positioning controlled disclosure as firewall against predatory scrutiny.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Bartlet's handling of the Haiti crisis directly leads to the finalized terms of Bazan's surrender, showcasing his diplomatic strategy."
"Bartlet's handling of the Haiti crisis directly leads to the finalized terms of Bazan's surrender, showcasing his diplomatic strategy."
Key Dialogue
"LEO: "When this is a done deal, I want you to stick around for a while and brief the press.""
"NANCY: "She made a mistake, Leo." LEO: "I'm not punishing her.""
"LEO: "You're not the political face of this administration, you're no part of the MS thing and you won't be asked questions about it.""
"NANCY: "I don't feel right about this." LEO: "I don't care.""